Corinthians seek best Libertadores run since 2012, title after 13 years | OneFootball

On the night of this Thursday (9), at 9 p.m. (Brasília time), Corinthians face Platense of Argentina in a match valid for the group stage of the 2026 Conmebol Libertadores, at Estadio Ciudad de Vicente López. It will be the first meeting between the teams in history. The Alvinegro need a win to get back on track this season, as they have gone nine matches without a victory – the last one came on February 19, away from home, in the Brasileirão, against Athletico-PR.

The club from Parque São Jorge begins its journey in the tournament seeking to win an international title for the first time since 2013. That year, it won the Recopa Sudamericana, played between the Libertadores and Sudamericana champions from the previous year, beating São Paulo 4-1 on aggregate. In the first leg, it won 2-1 at Morumbi. Then at Pacaembu, it claimed a 2-0 victory.

Photo: Rodrigo Coca/Agência Corinthians

In addition, Corinthians are aiming to achieve their best Conmebol Libertadores campaign for the first time since 2012, when they won the competition for the first time, unbeaten, against Boca Jrs of Argentina, by 3-1 on aggregate. In all of their appearances in the competition since then, Timão’s best performance came in 2022, when they exited the tournament in the quarterfinals, losing 3-0 on aggregate.

That season, managed by Portuguese coach Vitor Pereira, the Alvinegro advanced to the knockout stage in second place in Group E, which included Boca Jrs (Argentina), Deportivo Cali (Colombia) and Always Ready (Bolivia), with nine points – two wins, three draws and one loss. In the round of 16, they eliminated Boca on penalties at La Bombonera after two goalless draws, before falling to the Rio de Janeiro side in the next round.

In 2013, 2015, 2016 and 2018, they were eliminated in the round of 16. In the 2020 and 2025 seasons, meanwhile, they were knocked out in the preliminary stage, which comes before the group stage. In recent seasons, Corinthians came closer to winning an international title in the Sudamericana. In 2019, 2023 and 2024, they were eliminated in the semifinals by Independiente Del Valle of Ecuador, Fortaleza and Racing of Argentina, respectively. In 2021 and last year, they disappointed and were knocked out in the group stage.

Corinthians' record in international competitions since 2013:

•2013 – Libertadores – eliminated in the round of 16 by Boca Jrs•2015 – Libertadores – eliminated in the round of 16 by Guarani-PAR•2016 – Libertadores – eliminated in the round of 16 by Nacional-URU•2017 – Sudamericana – eliminated in the round of 16 by Racing-ARG•2018 – Libertadores – eliminated by Colo-Colo-CHI in the round of 16•2019 – Sudamericana – eliminated in the semifinals by Independiente Del Valle-EQU•2020 – Libertadores – eliminated in the preliminary stage by Guarani-PAR•2021 – Sudamericana – eliminated in the group stage•2022 – Libertadores – eliminated in the quarterfinals by Flamengo•2023 – Libertadores – eliminated in the group stage•2023 – Sudamericana – eliminated by Fortaleza in the semifinal•2024 – Sudamericana – eliminated in the semifinals by Racing-ARG•2025 – Libertadores – eliminated by Barcelona-EQU in the preliminary stage•2025 – Sudamericana – eliminated in the group stage

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This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇧🇷 here.